Trolley-controlled apparatus.



J. F. McELROY, DECD.

s. H. McELROY, EXECUTRIX. TROLLEY CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION FILED JUNE1 IQIZ. 1,215,393. Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

. INVENTQR .ATY

Hit NPHRIS PEYERS "0,. PNUm-LITNO., WASMINGIUN. D C r J. F. MCELROY, DECD.

s. n. McELHOY, ExEcuTmx. TROLLEY CONTROLLED APPARATUS. 1,215,393. APPLICATION man JUNE 1, 1912. Patented Feb, 13,1917,

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR VATTY JAMES F. IVIcELROY, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK; SUSIE II. MQELROY,'EXEOUTBIX OF SAID JAMES F.,MoELROY, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO CONSOLIDATED CAB-HEATING COM- IPANY, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

TROLLEY-CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

PatentedFeb.13,1917.

- Application filed June 1, 1912. serial No. 700,929.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, JAMES F. MCELROY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, county of Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Controlled Appara' tus, the following'being a full, clear, and exact disclosure of vention which I at present deem preferable. For a detailed description of the present form of my invention, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, wherein-'- Figure 1 is a diagram cuits of my apparatus;

Fig. 2 shows a modification; Figs. 3 and 4 show the trolley-operated contacts; f v v Figs. 5 and 6 show different forms of the trolley-operated contacts;

Fig.7 is a view of the contact annulus 53 My invention relates to the control of receiving devices by the trolley on the line conductor of an electric railway, the particular receiving device to which the invention is shown as applied being a railway signal adapted to be started into action by a car or train at some distant point and stopped when the car or train reaches the local point at which the signal is placed. Such'a sig nal is applicable to a crossing or to any situation where of the electric cirits arrival.

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents the trolley-wire of a single track trolley line extending in both directions from a crossing or other point at which is located a signal 80, which may be of any suitable kind, but which is here indicated as a vibrating bell adapted for direct current. At distant points X and Y on either side are placed trolley-operated circuit closers K and K also relay magnets 70 and 7 0?. At a still greater distance on either side, beyond the points X and Y, are placed the respective trolley-operated circuit-breakers P and P A local circuit-closer S is placed at the crossing. From the grounded line 16, containing the bell 80, and a resistance R in series therewith, two wires 17 and 18 extend in opposite directions to the respective distant points X and jY,

the one form of my in-.

. and thence by wire 16 circuit-breaker P or P it is (16S1I6d 't0 receive notice of an approaching train in advance of where they pass through the coilsfof the respective relays 70 and 7 0 and the fuses- 50 to the contacts of the respective circuit-closers K and K where the circuit is normally open, but susceptible of being temporarily closed whenever a trolley passing along the wire A lifts rod 50 and forces contact 58 against the aforesaid contact 55, thereby closing what may be termed a starting circuit for the signal-bell 80. The current from the trolley wire A will pass, by rod 50 and contacts 53, 55, to fuse 50, relay coil 70 or 7 0 and wire 17 or Wire 18, according as the car or train is approaching from the right or the left, to resistance R and bell 80 which is thereby started into action. At the same time therelaymagnet will lift contact 73against contacts 72 and thereby close what may be called a maintaining circuit from the normally-closed circuitbreaker P 01" P as the case may be, by the wire 19 to the point 15 where it'joins the aforesaid starting circuit through fuse 50 and the relay coil as above described. Thus the flow of current through the local circuit of bell 80, initiated or started by the temporary closure of the circuit-closer K will be continued or trolley wire, through the normally closed the contacts 73, 72, the fuse 50 the'relay. coils 70 or 70 and the wire 17 or 18 to the bell. It is obvious that the action of the signal, thus initiated orstarted the arrival of an approaching car or train at one of the circuit closers K or K will be continued after the car has passed the circuit-closer. It is therefore necessary to provide means by which the action of the signal will be stopped when the car or train reaches the crossing or other lo cal point where its approach has been heralded by the bell; One such means is shown in Fig. 1 as a circuitcloser S which the car or train will operate on its arrival to mementarily connect wire 16 to trolley wire A. The effect thereof will be to short-circuit, and thereby decnergize, the previously energized relay magnet and so break the maintaining circuit aforesaid at contacts 72, 7 3, and restore all the parts to their normal inactive condition. It is true that, as the car or train passes on, going, say from right to or K maintained from the left in Fig. 1, it will re-startthe signal when it reaches circuit-closer K but it will soon stop it again when it reaches and operates the further circuit-breaker P whose contacts 47 and 53 .are in the maintainingcin cuit at the left.

Another form of local signal-stopping means is shown in Fig. 2 as a trolley-operated circuit-breaker S contained in the wire 16, which will serve to denergize the relay by breaking its circuit instead of short circuiting it. Either form will serve as a local circuit-controller acting on the main taining circuit at whichever side'of the 10- cal point the maintaining circuit has been set in operation.

The details of the trolley-operated contacts above referred to are shown in Figs. 3, 4,5, 6 and 7. In Figs.-3 and 4 a circuitbreaker isshown, 40 being a tubular metallic, shell provided with cars 41 for mounting it-on a span wiresand provided with an adjustable extension 43. Through the casing thus formed by 40 and 43 passes a rod 50 whichisupports the trolley wire A by means ofaclamping ear 61, jointed by pin62 to a clevis 60-screwed on the lower end of the rod 50. By means of a disk-52 the rod 50 is seated .ona. spring 54 which rests on the floor 46 of the extension 43. The shell 40 is surmounted byan insulating cap 52 on which is aflanged disk 47 carrying a metal-cap 42 to which the outgoing wire 19 is connected. Onthe upper endof rod 50 is a contact disk 53 which normally rests on disk 47 and closes thecircuitat that point betwee'ntrolley wire A and wire 19. A space is formed above disk 53 in which :it may ,play up and down and a plate 49 of insulation preventsithe disk from connecting electrically with cap- 42 when it is raised. Byineans of the adjustable extension 43 any desired fraction of the weight of the trolley wire may be supported by disk 53 resting on disk 47, the remainder of the \veight'being supported by disk 52 resting on spring 54. In practice I allow about 8 pounds to be thus imposed on the contact disks so that an upward pressure of the trolley-wheel on trolley wire A of about 8 pounds will be sufiicient to lift disk 53 from disk 47 and break the circuit. In Fig. 5, which shows a circuit-closer, the construction .is the same as in Figs. 3 and 4 except at theupper end where the cap 42 is applied directly to shell 40 and in the recess thus formed the contact disk 53 normally rests on aflange 45 inside of shell 40 and out of contact with the opposite contact disk 55 which is on the lower end of a screw stud 56 that passes through .cap 42 being insulated therefrom, and also insulated externally, by the thimble-bushing 57. Manifestly the lifting of rod 50 and disk 53 by apassing trolley-wheel will temporarily close the circuit at contacts 53 and 55. In Fig. 6 is of .a warped annular loosely pinned at shown the circuit-breaker S of Fig. 2. Here the rod 50 is surmounted by a disk 59 of insulating material carrying on its un der side the contact 53 which is inlthe form diametrically opposite points (see Fig. 7) to the under side of disk 59. The contact annulus 53 normally rests on two insulated contacts 4" and 47 set in the side walls of the insulating cap 58 and connected respectively to the severed ends of wire 16. The. lifting of rod 50 will lift contact away from contacts 4" and 47 and so break the flow of current along the wire 16. The trolley-operated circuit-controllers above described are shown and claimed in my application Ser. No. 693,914 filed April 29, 1912, and are not claimed herein.

lVhat I claim as new and by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a railway line conductor, ofa receivingdevice, a plurality of starting circuits each including said receiving device and a relay magnet, distant circuit closers controlling the respective starting circuits, maintaining circuits in series with portions of the respective starting circuits-to include the relay magnets and respectively controlled by said magnets, circuit breakers for the respective maintaining circuits, and a local circuit controller acting on all of saidmaintaining circuits.

desire to secure 2. Thecombination with a line-conductor on .a single-track railwayof a local receiving device to be controlled by the trolley thereon, a starting circuit including said device and extended in both directions to a distant point, a stopping and starting deviceat both distant points and a local stopping device near the said receiving device.

3. The combination with the line conductor on a single-track railway, of a local receiving device to be controlled by a trolley thereon, a circuit including said device and branching in opposite directions therefrom to a distant point, a relay in each branch and beyond each relay two sub-branch circuits, one of which is a starting circuit containing a circuit-closer operated by the trolley, and the other amaintaining circuit containing a circuit-breaker operatedby the trolley and also contacts controlled by the corresponding relay, and a local circuit-controller near the said receiving device and also operated by the trolley.

4. The combination with the line conductor on a single-track railway, of a local receiving device to be controlled by a trolley thereon, a starting circuit including said device and extending to distant points in opposite directions respectively, two distant starting devices,-two maintaining circuits in series with .the starting circuit, two distant piece, like a washer, 4

controlling devices for said maintaining circuits and a local controller for both maintaining circuits near the said receiving device.

5. The combination with the line-conductor on a single-track railway, of a local receiving device to, be controlled by a trolley thereon, a line-wire extending between two distant points on opposite sides respectively of said receiving device, a conductor extending from said line wire to said device with a resistance included therein, two distant relays in said line-wire, said line wire having two branch starting circuits at the respective distant points, one branch circuit containing a circuit-closer operated by the trolley to connect its branch circuit to the line-conductor, the other containing contacts controlled by the corresponding distant relay and also a circuit-breaker located beond the aforesaid circuit-closer and operated by the trolley to break the connection between the branch circuit which contains it and the line wire, and a local circuit-con- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the troller between the said line-wire and the receiving device. 6. The combination with a line conductor on a single track railway, of a local receiv-' ing device to be controlled by the trolley thereof, a circuit including said device and extended in both directions, two distant starting circuits for the first mentioned cir cuit, each starting circuit including a circuit closer that is momentarily closed by an incoming train,'two distant maintaining circuits for the distant starting circuits that are closed by the closing of said distant starting circuits, and a local controller for the two maintaining circuits located near the receiving device.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, before two subscribing witnesses, this 22nd day of May, 1912.

JAMES F. MOELROY.

Witnesses:

HERBERT A. CAULKINS, RICHARD W. ATWELL.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

